Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Every Shiny Thing

Told in alternating voices this is the story of Sierra and Lauren.Lauren has always been a help to her family. Her brother is autistic and she has worked on helping him communicate and negotiate through his frustrations. But now he is gone to a boarding school and Lauren hates it. To make matters worse, her best friend doesn't seem to understand. In an effort to cope she focus her attention on raising money to get help for other autistic kids. But her means of getting the money - stealing things and then selling them online is hardly the way to go.Sierra has had a rough upbringing. Her dad is an addict and in jail and her mom is an alcoholic and after the latest episode is in rehab and Sierra is living with foster parents next door to Lauren.The girls finds solace and friendship with each other but Sierra ends up covering for Lauren just like she used to cover for her mom. Can both girls get what they need?I enjoyed the mixed format of this book and the story overall was well done and had some good themes. My one issue was how fast Lauren's issue took root and bloomed from merely taking things from home that no one seemingly wanted to shoplifting and stealing. Maybe realistic but it seemed a big, quick jump to me. Kids won't mind though...